


Itchy

by Katherine



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 10:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13634583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katherine/pseuds/Katherine
Summary: "Don't do that," Rocket said, his voice very gentle (for Rocket, as he nearly always was with his re-growing friend) but firm. He was sitting at his workbench, but seemed to be more keeping an eye on Groot than actually working on something. Groot kept twitching his leg-roots and whispering "I am Groot" in a sad tone.





	Itchy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [interabang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/interabang/gifts).



"Don't do that," Rocket said, his voice very gentle (for Rocket, as he nearly always was with his re-growing friend) but firm. He was sitting at his workbench, but seemed to be more keeping an eye on Groot than actually working on something. Groot kept twitching his leg-roots and whispering "I am Groot" in a sad tone.

"He's itchy," Rocket said to Peter, in explanation. "But if he scratches he'll wear his bark right off."

*

Something like half an hour later, Peter was (along with Rocket) carefully holding Groot's arms to keep him from scratching. It felt rather a weird way to help, but Groot had stretched his limbs, and seemed more relaxed now. He kept moving his especially itchy foot around in the air as if that would make it feel better.

"Have we got baking soda?" Peter asked, recalling the misery of his one bout of chicken pox, back on Earth. Baths with baking soda in had made him feel better.

Rocket usually had a good idea of their supplies, if not always where any besides his own tools were placed in the ship, but he was shaking his head. Peter suddenly wasn't at all sure that there was such a thing as baking soda, out here in the universe.

When Gamora spelled him off, she held one of Groot's arms with a delicacy that years ago, when Peter first encountered the coolly efficient Daughter of Thanos, would have surprised him. Peter took the chance to check on the supplies. As he left the room, Peter heard Gamora whispering reassurances to Groot... and very possibly to Rocket, in a conveniently deniable way.

*

"We do not have that substance," Drax said decidedly. Peter was more than willing to accept that, as Drax had every possible ingredient for baking, and no few that Peter would not have expected to be part of a pastry, arranged on the work-surface. (The strangest was a spiral vegetable more or less the red-purple of a beet, but faintly striped and with pine-like needles instead of leaves.)

"My ingredients will combine as deliciously later," Drax said once Peter explained, and followed Peter back to assess the situation for himself.

*

Drax didn't get to do his baking, but he did make. Drax retrieved his latest, non-edible project. Knitting. Or crochet, or alien-stitching thing, there were three needles and some yarn involved, anyway. Impressively fast, Drax made Groot a pair of mittens. They were in scraps of different colors, mostly greens and yellows.

Groot liked them, and waved his hands around as soon as Drax carefully fitted them on. Now he was safely prevented from scratching himself. Not only that, but with something pretty (well, he seemed to think the mittens were pretty, and Peter wouldn't be the one to tell Drax they weren't) to distract him.

"Those are pretty good," Rocket said, turning one of his own hands over as if considering whether he might like such an accessory for his own.

Gamora laid her hand on Peter's arm in silent approval before saying aloud, "Quite the best set of colors."

They hadn't done so badly, all of them, in looking after the one of them who needed it at the moment. Although not to borrow trouble, they should find out how long whatever had Groot itchy was likely to continue. Plus whether it could be passed to anyone else.

If they couldn't buy baking soda on some planet or station, maybe they could buy a stash of yarn for Drax. Then he could make mittens for every one of the Guardians. They wouldn't match, but they could share a style.


End file.
